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The Conservation Campaign News                 October 2013
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Newark Votes Nov. 5 on Parks, Community, and Kids

 

Shelley Kuznetz photography

After breathing new life into communities with the restoration and creation of 17 parks and playgrounds in recent years, Newark now has a chance to dedicate funds to keep its parks vibrant and well-maintained. Municipal Question 1, the Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund, would establish ongoing funding to maintain parks, playgrounds, and playing fields--and to acquire and develop new outdoor open space. Newark still has among the fewest acres of parkland per person of any major U.S. city, and 30 percent of children under age 14 live more than a quarter mile from any parkland. The Conservation Campaign is sponsoring the Newark Citizens for Open Space campaign to pass the measure. Read more. 

Open Space and Parks Bond Good for Boise and Business

With a world-class open space and park system, Boise is ranked one of the best places to live in the West.  A $15.7 million open space bond on the November 5 ballot would continue the protection of open space and clean water that is key to maintaining the city's quality of life and future economic growth. The Yes! Yes! for Boise campaign is leading the effort to pass the measure, along with a $17.2 million fire safety bond. The bond has broad community support, including in the editorial pages of the Idaho Statesman. The measure would continue land conservation in the scenic Boise Foothills, where a 2001 ballot measure preserved more than 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat, watershed lands, and hiking and biking trails. Passage of the bond would also create three new parks, improve existing parks, and protect other important open space around the city.  Read more.  

 

Florida Conservation Amendment Moving Towards the Ballot 

   

The constitutional amendment guaranteeing funding for land and water conservation was recently approved by the Florida Supreme Court for the 2014 ballot. The campaign's petition drive is now on the home stretch to reach the goal of more than 680,000 signatures by November 30. In recent years, the Florida legislature has slashed funds for conservation. The Water and Land Conservation Amendment would dedicate funds from the state's existing documentary stamp tax for the conservation, management, and restoration of Florida's water and land over 20 years, providing more than $10 billion without any tax increase. Read more.
Campaign Seeks to Enhance Massachusetts Enviro Bond, as Study Shows a Fourfold Return on Open Space Funds

Photo by Jerry Monkman
The Conservation Campaign is leading a legislative lobbying campaign to increase a four-year $991 million environmental bond proposed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. As part of a coalition of 13 conservation organizations known as the Commonwealth Conservation Council, we are working with legislators to add $374 million to strengthen existing programs for land conservation and sustainability, and to fund new programs for climate change adaptation, green infrastructure, and urban agriculture. This new bond would continue Massachusetts' smart investment in its land, water, and economy. From 1998 to 2011, every dollar the state has invested in parks and land conservation has returned four dollars in economic value, according to a new study from The Trust for Public Land. That includes revenues generated by industries that depend on conserved lands, as well as the value of natural services like protecting water supplies. This investment also supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, including 90,000 jobs in the outdoor recreation industry alone. Read more.  
� Copyright The Conservation Campaign 2013. All Rights Reserved.
The Conservation Campaign, 10 Milk Street, Suite 810, Boston, MA 02108. 617-371-0526 [email protected]